Avantgarde Acousticsから、「 Zero1 」登場！！！

海外ニュース速報 [World]

More integrated, compact and simple, and yet a veritable horn loudspeaker—to the very last decibel. The ZERO 1 is a dream come true—one that we have shared with many friends of our horn loudspeaker factory for over twenty years. After all, as fascinated, moved and amazed we may be by our larger acoustic transducers, we have always longed for a more compact horn loudspeaker to make the incomparable experience of Avantgarde Acoustic accessible to a wider audience of audio enthusiasts.

The ZERO 1 opens up this new road with a revolutionary size, simplified shape, hassle-free setup and fully integrated processor and amplifier technology.

Size and Design
Despite its clear, simplified shape and compact size, the ZERO 1 is brim-full of self confidence as it seamlessly integrated into its owner’s living environment. Moreover, its recessed spherical wave horn is a shining example of functional beauty.

Maximum Integration
Digital processors, analogue-to-digital converters, power amplifiers and loudspeakers—all in a fully integrated system. And more importantly: all of a level of high-end quality hitherto unseen in this category.

Plug & Play Installation
The loudspeakers communicate with each other via a radio link. They only need to be hooked up to the mains with the digital input of the master loudspeaker connected to the music signal (e.g. via AirPort Express*).  That’s it.

The basics up front: A full-fledged horn system, the ZERO 1 has all of the tonal advantages provided by horn technology—the most original and natural acoustic transducer principle. Each of the two horns is driven by a 50-watt power amplifier. Without delay or distortion, sound explodes out of the mid-range and treble horns with extreme dynamism and an impressive efficiency of about 104 dB. This presentation is accompanied by the bass woofer working in tandem with a dedicated 400-watt power amplifier, delivering a spectacular rendition of Avantgarde Acoustic’s “Purity Meets Performance” credo.

However, the technological quantum leap taken by the ZERO 1 comes courtesy of the perfection of the digital audio chain. The ZERO 1 succeeds in processing digital signals in uncompromising quality and transmitting them directly to the drivers without taking loss-making detours via passive filters. This is made possible by extremely sophisticated digital processing which is a trailblazer in terms of quality.

Simpler, freer and less complicated—the ZERO 1 philosophy is also reflected in its multitude of inputs. So that all you have to worry about is the music!

Digital Inputs
USB, Toslink, SPDIF and the professional AES/EBU input—this covers the entire range of commonly used digital interfaces.  However, due to the vast range of standards and frequent codex updates, as a timeless high-end loudspeaker, the ZERO 1 renounces a built-in wireless interface. Nevertheless, you can easily use the ZERO 1 as a WLAN loudspeaker via the wireless receiver of your choice (e.g. AirPort Express).

Analogue Inputs
Sine the ZERO 1 comes with a digital FPGA front end, analogue signals (e.g. from turntables, amplifiers or measuring microphones) must first be digitized. The input board has an empty slot for this purpose. It can be fitted with an AD board without having to open the loudspeaker cabinet.

The ZERO 1 is completely different than anything else we have produced so far. And yet it sounds so amazingly familiar. “Purity Meets Performance”—when listening to the ZERO 1, we immediately realize that we have an Avantgarde Acoustics horn loudspeaker in front of us. An acoustic transducer from the high-end factory, which has been drawing on its understanding of tonal perfection for over 20 years to turn the superlative into a benchmark. An ambition that has left its mark on each and every detail of the process of creating the ZERO 1.

From the material used to craft the cabinet and horn—a highly innovative ABS polymer with outstanding tonal properties—via ground-breaking FPGA processing which redefines digital quality through a series of filtering features to top-notch amplification technology, every component radiates our passionate and uncompromising approach.

This culminates in an acoustic transducer with a convincing concept and amazing tonal presentation. A loudspeaker that is the first of its kind. Because it was created for an era that has just begun.

A common challenge faced by digital signal processing is the amount of data needed to perform complex calculations. This is why the bit rate is usually reduced in conventional DSPs, resulting in rounding errors and what is known as rounding noise. The ZERO 1 solves this elementary problem with more intelligent, higher-performance FPGA processing of up to 66 bits.

 

FINITE IMPULSE RESPONSE FILTER

Precise down to one-millionth of a second, the FIR filter provides a sensational impulse response. This means that the 3 channels (bass, midrange and tweeter) reproduce music in absolute synchronicity. Moreover, thanks to the FIR filter the ZERO 1 has perfect phase characteristics, with deviations of less than 5 degrees. By comparison, your average loudspeaker has maximum deviations of 500 to 1,500 degrees.

 

PROGRESSIVE STEEPNESS FILTER

The ZERO 1 uses progressive steepness filters. To obtain optimum impulse characteristics, a 6 dB filter is used at the crossover point, after which it becomes progressively steeper until 100 dB. The tonal advantages run the gamut from outstanding impulse responses via an extremely strong filtering and blocking effect to the elimination of unnecessary driver strain and ringing effects.

 

24-BIT CONVERTER CHIPS

When processing the digital signal of the music source and filtering it for the 6 drivers, the ZERO 1 operates in the digital domain—and thus loss- and error-free— for as long as possible. Only in the end does the digital-to-analogue conversion take place. Very high-value 24-bit converter chips by the renowned manufacturer Burr & Brown are used for this purpose, ensuring that the precision of the upstream signal path is maintained during the analogue conversion process.

 

MASTER-SLAVE WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY

Master and slave connections between ZERO 1 loudspeakers are wireless—eliminating the need for cables. Although this simplifies setup considerably, it is important that the wireless connection does not deteriorate the sound in any way. The ZERO 1 provides tonal perfection by transmitting the volume over a dedicated wireless channel, applying it only once it has arrived at the slave. The data transfer rate is 44.1 kHz at 16 bits and is bit-perfect. Another measure taken to achieve this is to delay the master by less than 2 microseconds in order to make up for the time needed to process the radio link. This ensures that the master and slave’s musical output is absolutely synchronous.